The accidental derailing of railroad cars occurs with some frequency. Many such derailments occur in rail yards at low speeds. Under these conditions the derailed car often remains upright and relatively undamaged. The rerailment of such a derailed car requires the lifting of the car with a hoist or the like and the setting of the wheels of the derailed truck or trucks back on the track.
A railroad tank car typically includes a tank having an inner shell for holding a commodity, an outer shell or exterior wall and a layer of insulation in between. The tank is typically supported on two bolsters connected to an underframe. Each bolster overlies a truck assembly including a series of track engaging wheels.
Railroad tank cars have generally been designed without consideration given to derailment handling. Thus, unfortunately, many tank cars are significantly damaged during retailing. More specifically, the hoist is typically connected to a lift point on the bolster of the rail car. The outer shell of the tank typically extends to the side up to or beyond this point. Accordingly, as the car is lifted, the hook or rigging of the hoist engages the outer shell of the tank often exerting a pressure that ruptures the shell or exterior wall, thereby producing serious damage to the car that is very expensive to repair. The present invention addresses this problem and protects the exterior wall of the tank car from rupturing during the lifting and rerailing operation.